Why the lovesong?
by Tsaalyo Phoenix
Summary: Ember finally manages to beat Danny, but can't bear to finish him off. So she takes him back home, where they learn a great deal about each other. Slight retcon about how Danny and Sam finally started dating.


So many people do the story of Ember getting hurt or sick or whatever, and Danny taking her to his room to fix her up. I thought I'd go the other way. XD

Ember was at it again. She made her way back to Amity Park, and was doing her usual "brainwash the world" thing. This could not stand. Danny managed to find Ember, and now, the fight took place.

"Wasting your time, wannabe!" Ember taunted as Danny chased her through the skies.

Ember swooped down to street level, Danny in hot pursuit. Ember spun around, shedding her ghost tail for her legs, and unleashed a massive punch beam from her guitar. Danny barely managed to dodge under it, and returned fire with an ectoblast from both hands. Ember smoothly twirled out of the way, her hair flaming up during the spin into a massive pyre. Once the spin stopped, she unleashed a massive wave of fire at Danny. Danny flew high, the flames licking his heels and blackening the road it hit.

Danny and Ember landed on the street, maybe 15 feet from each other, facing off.

"Do we always have to do this dance, Ember? What's this, third time I'll have sent you back to the Ghost Zone?" Danny asked.

Ember gritted her teeth, not taking the taunt well. "That's not gonna happen, babypop!" She yelled, and flew straight for him, holding the guitar like a club.

Ember swung hard as if with a baseball bat. Danny ducked under it and jumped up, hitting Ember with an uppercut and following through by lifting off into the air. Ember was knocked up high, but managed to steady herself before falling back down.

Danny shot up at her, going for another uppercut. Ember cut him off by simply kicking his face as he rose up to her level. Danny was knocked back a few feet, and just barely had time to see Ember's ectoblast before it hit his shoulder. He violently spun in the air, flying back and to the left several feet.

"I'm not going back!!" Ember screamed, and shot for Danny.

Danny quickly duplicated himself into four, surrounding Ember as she got close. Unfortunately, Ember was ready for this, and with a spun, smacked each Danny away with her guitar. The Dannies flew off in all directions, and three of them quickly returned to the original.

"I'M NOT!!" Ember continued, her hair remaining a constant pillar of flame now.

Danny held his head, trying to get to his senses. Ember rushed him, and with an overhead swing from her guitar, slammed down on his head. Danny fell from the sky and slammed onto a parked car. Without hesitation, Ember unleashed a fireball on it. Danny just barely had time to open his eyes before it hit. The car exploded, sending Danny flying through the air. He slammed into the concrete wall of the nearby building and hit the ground, motionless. After a few seconds, his ghost form failed, leaving him as his normal self.

Ember swooped down and landed, Danny at her feet. She stared at him for moment, and smirked.

"Finally, we'll all be rid of you, dipstick." She said, and readied her guitar. She set it to the skull beam, raised her hand high... and paused. After a few seconds, she lowered her hand with an irritated sigh.

* * *

_Ugh... my head..._

Danny couldn't remember where he was or how he got there. His head was pounding, and the rest of his body ached. Through bleary eyes, he realized that it was nighttime. He must have been out for a while, since he remembered leaving the house at around 5 to... to go deal with Ember!

Danny quickly sat up, and immediately regretted it. It made his head spin, and his back hurt way more than his head.

"Gah!" Danny yelped, holding his back and falling back to his side.

His head hit a pillow when he did this. Danny looked around, teeth gritted in pain, and realized that he was back in his room, in his bed. But how did he get there?

Danny slowly pushed himself to a seated position, his back and arms screaming at him to stop. He let out pained groans in the final few moments, and finally balanced himself, seated. Looking around, nothing was out of place in the room. No signs of how he might have gotten there. Looking at the clock, it was 1 am.

Suddenly, blue mist escaped his mouth.

_...no, not now..._ Danny thought. In his bedroom, in this much pain, he knew he couldn't take on the Box Ghost.

Footsteps.

Danny quickly turned to the doorway, where he heard footsteps coming from the hall. He knew he couldn't explain why he was in such rough shape at this time of night. As quickly as he could, he laid back down on his side and covered himself, back to the door. He closed his eyes and tried to slow his breathing, faking sleep as best he could.

The footsteps entered his room. Who was it? Mom? Dad? Jazz? Hopefully Jazz. She knew his secret, he wouldn't have to come up with some huge lie for her. But he didn't open his eyes to check. One in three were not good odds.

The person stopped at Danny's bedside. After a short pause, Danny heard the person set some things down on his nightstand. It sounded like... a glass of water, maybe? Among... other things? It was too hard to tell.

After a few moments, a hand touched Danny's forehead, gently feeling it. Danny did his best not to move, and apparently it worked. The hand left his forehead.

Danny heard the person fidgeting with something... but he couldn't figure out what it was just from the sound. After a few moments, Danny felt the person lift the blanket a little, and slide something under it, towards him. It touched his back, and it was FREEZING.

Danny yelped in surprise and rolled away from the coldness, realizing immediately what it was: an icepack. This person knew he was hurt, and now the person knew he was awake.

"I'm fine, Jazz!" Danny protested, hoping he was right as to this person's identity. He turned to the person, and gasped.

Ember McLain.

Danny opened his mouth to yell in surprise, but Ember quickly lunged for him and tightly covered his mouth with one hand. Danny grabbed her wrist and struggled against her, pain shooting across his body as he did so.

"Quiet, dipstick!" Ember whispered loudly. "You'll wake everybody up!"

Danny struggled for a few more moments, only stopping because the pain of that much exertion was too much. It must have shown, because Ember's expression changed from panic and irritation to one of almost... sympathy?

"Quiet and I'll let you go." Ember whispered.

Danny stared at her for a moment, and finally let go of her wrist. Ember kept her word, and let go of him. Danny's mind raced. Did she bring him here? What did she want? Why was she putting an icepack on him? Did she do anything to his family?

Ember held up the icepack. "You took a car to your spine, dipstick, put this on it." She said, offering it to him.

Danny stared at it, then at her. Finally, he reached out and took it. But instead of reaching back to hold it in place, he just stared at her, confused.

"...what, don't know where your spine is? It's your back." Ember said sarcastically.

"I know where my spine is!" Danny protested. "What are you doing?!"

"...what's it look like?" Ember asked, hands on her hips. "You're hurt, nobody here is awake, so I'm helping you."

"...why?" Danny asked.

Ember looked at him, seemingly about to answer, but instead, she just sighed.

Danny paused, and slowly moved the icepack to his back.

"Ow ow ow ow..." He quietly complained. He didn't realize at first how badly his shoulders hurt, but they did, and it was hard to keep the icepack in place. Ember noticed this.

"...here, let me." Ember said, slowly taking a seat beside Danny. She reached out and took hold of the icepack, keeping it in place. Danny stared at her, genuinely surprised, and let go of the icepack.

The two stared at each other awkwardly. Ember eventually broke it, looking aimlessly around the room.

"...thanks." Danny finally said.

"Yeah, yeah..." Ember replied, eyes still exploring the room.

Danny stared at her. Why was she helping him like this? With show she was fighting earlier, he was sure she was going to kill him. Why this change of heart?

Danny looked at his nightstand. Ember had indeed brought him water, as well as tylenols and bandages. He reached out and picked up the glass, examining it.

"...it's not poison, dipstick, if I wanted to kill you I wouldn't do it that way." Ember said.

Danny smirked, and took a sip. This lead to another awkward pause.

"...Ember, seriously, why are you doing this? Danny asked.

"...wasn't all that good a neighborhood. I couldn't just leave you there." Ember replied, adjusting the icepack.

"...but why didn't you just... you know, kill me?" Danny asked.

Ember sighed. "I considered it, dipstick, don't think I didn't." Se said. "But... I guess it's just not in me to kill. Not even someone as annoying as you."

That wasn't exactly reassuring. All that meant was that Danny didn't make her angry enough.

"Now I have a question for you, babypop." Ember said.

"...uh... okay, shoot." Danny replied.

"Why do you hunt us?" Ember asked.

What the hell kind of question was that?

"...because you ghosts keep trying to take over the world, mostly." Danny slowly answered, confused. "Box Ghost just because he's annoying, but mostly, the taking over the world thing."

"Okay, but have you considered WHY so many of us want to do that?" Ember asked, looking at him.

"I know, I know, Jazz keeps pestering me to think about things from your side, I know." Danny replied. "But it's not like I can let you take over the world just because it'd be good for your subconscious."

Ember rolled her eyes and looked away. Her look was of... well, disgust, mostly. Disappointment... hurt?

"...why do you do it?" Danny asked carefully.

"Do what?" Ember asked.

"Try to take over the world." Danny replied.

Ember groaned. She looked at him for a moment, then stood up.

"Your ice pack needs recooling." She said, and began to walk out.

"...Ember." Danny protested.

Ember stopped at the doorway without looking back. "If you'd listen to my song, you'd figure it out." She said, and walked out.

Danny paused. Her song? What did that have to do with anything? He struggled to remember the lyrics. 'You will remember my name' sprang to mind – that line was repeated like a hundred times. But what about everything else? Something about September, something about some guy not calling... Danny remembered thinking this girl needed a serious lesson in getting over it.

Danny struggled out of bed, fighting through the pain, and walked out. He carefully walked by the bedrooms, not wanting to wake Jazz or his parents.

Ember was in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, arms crossed and staring at the floor. Danny walked in, and Ember looked at him.

"Icepack's in the freezer, give it a few." Ember said.

"I can wait." Danny replied, walking over to the table. He pulled out a chair, and very slowly took a seat. "Ow ow ow ow ow..."

Ember looked at him, her face almost betraying a hint of guilt. Still, she hid it with a smirk.

"That's what you get for stuffing me in that stupid thermos." She said.

Danny thought more about the song. Ember wanted to be remembered, but he always just figured it was because she got more power from people saying her name. Was there more to it? Maybe she didn't want to be forgotten on a more personal level.

"...tell me about the guy in your song." Danny asked.

Ember paused, staring at him.

"...you did say to piece it together from your song." Danny explained defensively.

Ember stared at him, then finally groaned, realizing he was right.

"You owe me huge for this, dipstick. This isn't something I talk about to anyone." Ember said flatly.

Danny adjusted himself in his seat, knowing full-well it would hurt. He groaned lightly in pain, his face showing it. Ember sighed, her defenses weakening slightly.

"...fine." Ember said, taking a seat. "But I get to ask something just as personal of you."

"...uh... okay..." Danny slowly replied. Whatever that was, it couldn't be good.

Ember stared at him for a moment, probably wishing Danny didn't agree to it. With a final groan, she began.

"Okay, so, I was 18." Ember said. "I was seeing this guy for about six months, and things were going pretty well. We had a lot of the same likes, he supported my music..."

"Oh, so you were starting a band when you were alive?" Danny asked.

"Not just tried, I had one." Ember replied. "A little garage band with some high school friends. Spectral Symphony."

"...really? A ghost reference?" Danny asked.

"What are the odds, I know." Ember replied with a smirk. "Anyway... ugh..." She looked at the table, disgusted.

"...Ember?" Danny asked.

"It's... way too personal, dipstick." Ember replied, looking away.

"...you can tell me, Ember, I won't tell a soul." Danny replied.

"...it's about lovemaking, alright?" Ember spat.

Danny recoiled a bit, surprised. Of all topics he never imagined discussing with a ghost, this pretty much topped it.

"Oh calm down, I'll give you the short version." Ember said. "I wasn't sure if I was ready to do that yet, but he convinced me. And then, well..." She quietly sang the next part, "_two weeks, you didn't call..._"

Danny paused, then nodded in understanding. Yet another stupid guy using his girlfriend and running.

"...I'm sorry." Danny said.

"Oh, don't patronize me, dipstick." Ember grumbled, not looking at him.

Danny looked at her, then at the table, thinking this over.

"So..." Danny said, breaking the awkward silence, "You want to take over the world so you can get revenge on him?"

"What? No." Ember replied. "Getting revenge on him was the first thing I did as a ghost. I haunted him until he couldn't take it anymore and jumped off a bridge."

Danny gave her a mildly disturbed look. Ember just shrugged.

"I just want to be remembered, really, that's all." Ember said. "The world to know my story, that's what I want. The brainwashing, well, that's what makes sure they remember."

They looked at each other, awkwardly.

"Well, thanks for telling me." Danny finally said. "If it helps... I'll remember you." He smiled.

"...trying to have a cheesy moment, are we?" Ember asked with a smirk.

"...uh... well..." Danny sputtered, looking away.

"...I think your ice pack is done." Ember said with an amused smile. She patted his shoulder and got up, walking to the fridge.

Danny watched her thoughtfully. He'd heard of those jackass guys leading women on until they get what they want, but he had never known anyone personally to fall victim to that. Ember probably didn't want his sympathy, but Danny couldn't help but having it for her. Poor girl.

Ember returned with the icepack. She carefully leaned Danny forward, placed the icepack at his back, and leaned him back, letting him hold the icepack in place between him and the chair. The freezing cold was uncomfortable, but it helped.

Danny watched Ember as she walked away from him. She walked to the counter and retrieved an apple from the fruit bowl.

"My turn." Ember said, taking a bite of the apple.

"...yes?" Danny asked, clearly worried. What embarrassing thing was she going to ask?

"Do you know why I lovesonged you and threw you at Sam?" Ember asked.

Danny blinked. What kind of question was that?

"...I don't understand." Danny replied.

"Just yes or no. Do you know why, of all things, I did that to you?" Ember persisted.

"...get me out of the way so you could take over the world?" Danny asked.

"Well yes, there's that, but I could have just incinerated you to the same effect." Ember replied. "Guess again."

"...sick pleasure?" Danny asked.

Ember put her hands on her hips, her annoyed glare saying it all.

"...I don't know, Ember." Danny said.

"Well, here's a hint, babypop." Ember said, taking another bite. "My guitar can't create emotions from nothing. It can only magnify what's already there."

Danny quirked an eyebrow at that. That was an interesting little fact for Wikipedia. But what did that have anything to do with... and as it dawned on Danny, Ember spelled it out for him.

"You love her, dipstick. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it." Ember said with a satisfied smirk.

Danny felt his face turn beet red. He looked away from her and tried to hide his face.

"...yeah, but, well, I, you..." He stammered.

Ember chuckled and walked up to him.

"And that's why I did it, Babypop. I know your type." Ember explained. "You're one of those guys, all sweet and nice, gushing over the girl you want, willing to move heaven and earth to make her happy, but you're too much of a cowardly dipstick to make a move."

"...hey!" Danny protested.

"Don't you hey me, you know it's true." Ember said. "I knew a few guys like that. See, here's what you need to understand." Ember sat down, eyes locked on him. "I was a lot like that pushy goth of yours. There's no way I'd make the first move on any guy. I figured, as nice as he is, if he's not asking, it means he's not interested. So I pretty much ignored them, and ended up going for the first guy to ask me out. And I already told you how that worked out."

Danny just stared at her, amazed that Ember was giving him this talk.

"Do you want that to happen to Sam, Babypop?" Ember asked.

"...no." Danny replied, his blushing finally fading.

"I didn't have to watch you two for ten seconds before figuring it out. It's so obvious." Ember continued. "She likes you, Babypop. I can't figure out why, but she likes you. If you asked her out for an official date, she'd say yes."

"...but if we don't work out, it'll only ruin the friendship." Danny said, feeling his cheeks redden again.

"If you don't try, she'll be joining me on stage in ten years." Ember replied. "'You will remember my naaaaame... and Sam's too.'"

Danny gave her an odd look.

"The point is," Ember finished, "Don't miss your opportunity. You like her, she likes you. Ask her out while she still likes you enough to say yes. Don't let her wind up like me." Ember looked away awkwardly.

Danny looked at her, thinking all that over. She was right. He liked Sam a lot, and he hoped she liked him back. But asking her out... he wasn't sure if he had the nerve.

Danny suddenly yawned, reminding them both of how late it was. Ember looked at Danny, and the awkward question arose. Danny wanted Ember back in the Ghost Zone, and Ember wanted to continue her music scheme.

"...tell you what." Ember said. "I'll go back in the Ghost Zone without a fight, if you ask her out first thing tomorrow."

Danny stared at her. He knew he was in no condition to prevent her from leaving the house, so he really had no choice.

"...deal." Danny said.

Ember stood up, took Danny's hand, and helped him to his feet. The pain was starting to go away, thankfully. Hopefully by morning it'd be gone enough for him to seem fine.

They walked down to the basement, where the portal waited. Ember stopped in front of the portal, Danny walking up beside her. Ember finished the apple, and tossed him the core.

"...ew." Danny said, catching it.

Ember smirked. "I'll be coming back tomorrow, just to make sure you keep your end of the bargain."

"I will, I will." Danny said awkwardly, staring at his feet. "I don't know how, but I'll do it..."

"...just ask her to a movie, dipstick, it's really not that hard." Ember said with a smirk. "Worry more about your parents throwing dating advice at you."

Danny shuddered. "Great, yeah, looking forward to that." He said. "And Ember... thanks. For not killing me, and for all this."

"...you really want a cheesy moment, don't you?" Ember replied, smirking. "Alright, alright, don't mention it. And..." her smirk turned to a smile. "Thanks for listening."

They stared at each other for a moment, and finally hugged. Danny would usually be freaking out to have a ghost as powerful as Ember this close, but for this moment, it didn't matter.

They broke the hug. Danny smiled awkwardly.

"Tell anybody about that, and burn." Ember said with a smirk, and walked through the portal.

* * *

Well, it had been a day. Ember stepped through the portal, intangible. Thankfully, nobody was in the lab. Looking at the clock on the wall, it was 7 pm. Time to see if Babypop had kept his word.

Ember flew up the stairs and into the house. Jack and Maddie were in the kitchen, eating dinner.

"All I'm saying is that a Fenton Cannon could really bust up some ghosts!" Jack said enthusiastically.

"But we want to dissect the remains, right? A cannonball would wreck the body too much!" Maddie protested.

Ember shook her head. These people were insane.

Ember continued up to Danny's room. She peeked inside. Danny wasn't in there. Ember flew in and looked around, hoping for a clue as to where Danny may be. Her eyes fell on the bed. The newspaper was on it, open. Ember picked it up, reading over the page.

In the bottom left corner was this week's movie schedule. _'Clash of the Titans, 7:30, 9:00, 10:30'_ was circled.

_...he really did it._ Ember thought, smiling to herself. The clock said 7:03. Plenty of time to go to the theater and make sure. Ember flew through the wall and out into the city.

* * *

The line for tickets ran outside the theater. Still intangible, Ember flew above the people in line, checking for Danny and Sam. And, near the front of the line, there they were. Tucker didn't seem to be around, and though it was hard to catch what they were saying over everyone else, they seemed to be having a good time. Ember got closer, listening.

"Well... buy the tickets? I'm going to the ladies room." Sam said.

"Sure." Danny replied.

Sam turned to leave, but stopped. She looked back at Danny, and smiled.

"I was wondering when you'd ask me..." She said, a tinge of red on her cheeks, and quickly walked inside.

Ember smiled, and flew behind the ticket booth where nobody was looking. She landed, turned tangible, and walked out. Danny was looking around frantically, since apparently his stupid blue mist had escaped his mouth.

"Over here, Babypop." Ember said, walking towards him.

"Oh." Danny said, looking relieved. "...come to see if I did it?"

"Yep." Ember replied. "I was right, wasn't I?"

"She... she jumped on it. Didn't even think about it." Danny said, his face turning red.

"Told you." Ember said, smiling. "You're welcome."

Danny looked at her. "You know... you're really not that bad, Ember." He said.

"Alright, alright, we've already had our 'moment'." Ember said with a smirk.

Danny returned the smirk. "Alright, fine. How about this: truce?" He offered his hand.

Ember stared at it, surprised, then at Danny. Finally, she shook his hand. "Truce." She replied.

The line had been advancing, and there was just one more person ahead of Danny waiting for tickets.

"Well, enjoy." Ember said. "See ya around, Babypop."

"See ya, Ember." Danny replied. "...thank you."

Ember smirked, and walked behind the ticket booth. She turned intangible, and flew off.


End file.
